Networks may include nodes whose locations are known as well as nodes whose locations are unknown. For example, in a wireless communication network, mobile units may comprise nodes in the network. Because these nodes are mobile, they do not remain at a fixed location. Typically, a network operating center maintains information about the locations of the known-location nodes in a database and attempts to maintain up-to-date estimates of the locations of the unknown-location nodes as well. The approach utilized by the network operating center to keep track of the unknown-location nodes can be a function of the nature of the network. For example, certain types of nodes may be able to estimate the distance from itself to a neighbor node. Such information can then be used to help estimate where the node is located at any given time.
The present subject matter relates to novel approaches to estimating the locations of unknown-location nodes in a network based on estimates of distances from the unknown-location nodes to their neighbor nodes.